Machine for removing weeds from railway roadbeds



Aug. 7, 1923.

A. SCHEUICHZER MACHINE FOR REMOVING WEEDS FROM RAILWAY ROADBEDS FiledApril 28 i921 'Patented Aug. lSlZB.

.AUGUSTE SCHEUCHZER, OF RENENS, SUIITZERLAND, ASSIGNR TO FERRODESHER-BEUSE SCHECHZER SOCETE ANONYIJE, O RENENS, SVTITZERLAND.

MACHINE FOR REMOVNG lNEEDS FROM RAILWAY ROADBEDS.

`.application sied api-n 2s, 1921. serial no. 465,272.

To @JZ whom t muy concern.' f

Be it known that I, AUeUs'rn SoHnUoI-Iznn, manufacturer, citizen of the'Republic ot Switzerland, residing at Renens, Canton de Vaud,Switzerland, have invented a new and useful improvement in Machines forRemoving Needs from Railway Roadbeds; and l do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to a machine for removing weeds from railway roadbeds. rthis machine is provided, with knives which are drawn through theballast by N means of an auxiliary motor automzuicallyY set in motion byparts ot the railway road bed. in machines already known, a pilot rolleris provided, said pilot roller running on the bottom of the rail andcoming against the locking nuts o'f the latter. ln several cases, thisdevice has however proven ineliicient and the present invention has Vforits object to improve devices oit this type.

lin the machine according` to my invention,y

the auxiliary motor for raising and lowering the knives is set in motionby means oit members drawn through the bed and actuated by lthe ties orsleepers. Two forms ot a machine according to my invention arerepresented in the annexed drawings, as' descriptive but not restrictiveexamples.

Figure l is a fragmentary side elevation of arailway car or othervehicle showing the invention applied thereto- Figs. 2 and 3 arediagrammatic views illustrating various positions of the guide lever. Y

F ig. l is a fragmentary side elevation ot a modilied form of theinvention.

Fig. 5 is a -tragmentary,vertical sectional view taken on the line V-Vof Figure d.

In the first form represented, the knives 15 are movable around an'axisll located upon a wheeled su )port or vehicle. They are driven in the bzlast by means of alever 5l pivoted at 52 and a member 152, the lever 51being actuated by a rod 50 carried by a piston (not shown) moving in acylinder (not shown), steam being alternately introduced on each side ofthe piston. rThe alternative straight movements or' said'piston causethe knives to be drivenin the ballast and tobe raised to inoperativeposition. The movements of the piston are controlled by a desired typeof slide valve (not shown).

By means of a rod a and an arm al, a lever c pivoted in the support atc1 and a lever Z) also pivoted in the support at point E32 may beactuated. rEhe lower arm b1 of the lever o is curved; it has partiallythe lform of an are and is engaged on its concave portion by an arm CZcariwing the pilot roller c pressed by a spring all. Said arm (Z iscarried by a guide lever pivoted at f1; the arm l may move along theguide lever j', the latter being drawn by said arm l in its oscillatorymotions. This lever f is connected with a tube 32 in which a springisprovided, which tends to hold in said tube a rod g connected ywith andadapted to actuate the slide valve above referred to.

When the machine is transported to the working place, it is possible, bymoving the rod (t, by r means oi a hand wheel (not shown), to turn thelever c clockwise. The slotted rod it connected withV the lever c actsthen on the extremity of the lever f to which it is loosely connected inorderto raise the 'the extremity oi' Vthe slot in the rod 7L out oiEengagement with the lever f and the latter is then only under theinfluence of the lever and of the spring (Z1. which draw the extremityof the arm cl. introduced in ythe gravel by the arm b1 of the lever 2')which tends to move the parts Z and fto an upright position. Each timethat said pilot rollerv comes against a sleeper, the arm cl, with thelever f oscillates around the pivot 7" oi? t 1e lever f, therebyactuating the rod g and the slide valve connected therewith and causingsteam to flow in the` cylinder and to raise the knives 15. As soon asthe sleeper has been passed, the spring 43 connecting the tube 32 to thesupport acts on the lever 7 in order to return the pilotk roller to theballast where it remains till it reaches the next sleeper. The returnmovement of the lever f and rod g effects such adjustment ot the slidevalve as'will permit The pilotroller is-` 3` Y l 'Y steam to flow on theother side oi the piston in order to drive the knives in the ibalilast.As above stated, the arm 'b1 of the lever Z; has partially the form ofthe are ot' a circle. The centre of curvature ot' said arm is not,hovvever, at the pivotal axis 'f1 of the lever f, so that when thelatter turns, the upper roller of the farm d following the curve o't thearm ZJ, causes the pilot roller to be moved in the direction of theknives. The closer the arm b is 'to the pivotal axis f, the morepronounced the movement of the pilot roller Will be. Figs. 2 and 3illustrate equal height oity sleepers in both cases; the machine mustthere-tore 'move erivard-'on the whole length D in order 'that the pilotroller yleaves the sleeperivhen Ythe arm b1 has the position shown inlili-g. '2. Said length is equal to D1 when the lever is incl-ined 'asshown in rThe motionothe lever 'moreover causes the' initial position oflever Z to be altered. lVh'en arm b1 lis near point b2, arm Z Ais nearlyperpendicular. lt results lthat its ell'ect on lthe V'slide valve isadvanced. By means of said device, v'the mechanism may be suitable ilforseveral Widths of sleepers. jln the second"torni ot execution, a pilotroller rolling in the gravel and actuated by the sleepers also -acts onthe steam distribu tion in order lto drive the 4knives in the rballastand to raise Vthemup. The knives are Y shoivnvb'y l5 afndfthey arepivotally 'mounted for swinging movement in the same manner as rsh'ovvn1n Fig.V 1 and are Aactuated by a rod 1152. The roller e is pivoted fatthe ex- 'tremifty of the lever d; 1tliellatter may oscillate around `a,bearing (Z1 fixed V:in `a sliding piecek 4which may be perpendicularlymoved A in aV slide Z-bar 4fixed vto ithe mass, said sliding piecebeing,- moved by vmeans of a hand v-hee'l 731 to which it -is connectedby arms 702 and cavand by a lever 764 ,pivoted in the mass. The slidebar 7c carries a conducting pie'c'eZl on -Whichrolls fthe-upper rollerof 'arm cl. The latter may slide in the` piece which it is connected 'to*the slide Ebar -70 and it isV always pressed against said conductingpiece by the `spring'm. VThe upper vextremity et the arm fcZ is moreoverguided in a curved slotV in "the m keyed -on 'an intermediary axis.`Another Yarm l"o, actuating' the rod at the extremity Aot' which theslide valve (not shown) is provided, and anarm 72, are also connectedwith the above intermediary axis. The arm p is always caused, by astrong spring g, to turn anticlockvvisc. 4The rela# tive position of thearm n, that is to say of its `slotted end and of the rotating point allof-theslide'b'ar 7c, causes vthe lever Zito be moreor less inclined withregard to the lrails on which thema'c-hine rolls. Vhenthe Iroller e,which rolls in theb'allast, comes against a sleeper, it esci-Hatesaround the pivot l? and causes 'the shaft r to lturn, tlie'motion fotthe latter bei-ng transmitted' to the slide valve by the arm o. In orderto iii; the time Where the knives are to leave :the ballast or to bedriven the latter, the .sliding .piece lc is raised or lowered by meanso1u the hand Wheel icl. Then the sliding I.piece is lowered, the initialposition .of Athe upper ezitremity ot' arm Z is altered, the lattersliding then 4in the slot provided in .arm a. This arm d is disposedupright so that, when the machine is set in motion, it will sooner reachthe sleeper. Moreover, instead of coming in contact .v-ith the lattervv-ith a part near its loiver extremity, the roller is caused to sint;more down in Vthe balla-sts() 4asj'to come invcontact with the sleeperinthe point Where its ldianreter is perpendicular to -the longitudinalaxis or the arm i6, the lead being` Ithus increased. Therefore, theAmore the roller driven in the graveh't'he longer is the time vduringwhich it remains on the sleeper, that is to say during which it raisestheir lves' out from the ballast. The lloivcrine; ot the 'knives is thusretarded. Iltis tlierejore possible to submit the .motion loil thelrnives to the Width-ot the sleepers. rlhe 'term Vol' the conductingpieceZ is such as to take into censiderationthe .position -oft thereliez.' e prei ding' the knives l5, ivith regard lto the directionorunning ofi the niachine. rlllie raising up oit the Alniiives requirescertain tra-veler the slide valve and therefore a certain. oscillationet the arm l around the *bearing (Z1. The parts are 'adjust-ed in such amanner that the lifting of the lrnives is effected close tothesleeper,gat the same moment when the lroller leaves the head edge etVthe sleeper; the roller must then Aroll on 'the flat '-part Where itmust ne liel'd, in spite ofthe' 'moving liferivard of rtfh'i,` machine,Vvtill the knives Yhave passed the sleeper. rllhis may belobtained bymeans of a preieetion iiirovidedon the conducting; piece, b v which thepilot roller is moved rearwardly, with reference Ato the direction or"travel oi' `the m'aclri e,as soonv as the roller otarmfd reachessaidprojeeti'on. The

pilot roller leaves therefore `the sleeper only after the kniveshavepassed said sleeper, so thatv it is impossible 'that `the sleepersibe damaged. In the drawings, only one pilot roller is represented;however tivo rollers will `'generally be provided, 'cach foi. themrolling atie certain Idistance from the axis ot the road. Y Both pilotV.rollers :may act on the slide valves independently ione :of :the otherso'thatin the curved parts of the .line or when the rails are ii-XedfonyWoodsleepers et irregular iorm, the Iifrst roller li'ch comes againstthe sleepeiweause the kni es to raise up and the roller Vvvhicl'i:remains Vien the sleeper holds -them up.

ln lorder 'to rbrinsj the'maeliine 'on (the v-'orking` place, thefdevice Vis `iput kout for" action'by raising' up .the sliding vpiece,-z. As arm "n Iis not moved, the yupper extremity 2. ln a machine ofthe character described comprising a wheel mounted support adapted totraverse railway tracks, a knife carried by said support, motor actuatedmeans for raising` and lowering said knife, and tie enn gaging meanscontrolling the motor driven means for automatically lifting` the knifeover the ties.

3. In a machine of the character described comprisinor a wheel mountedsupport adapted to traverse railway tracks, a knife carried by saidsupport, motor actuated means for raisingand lowering said knife, andtie engaging means controlling the motor driven means for automaticallylifting the knife over the ities, said last mentioned means including apivoted lever and a pilot roller arranged to engage the railway roadbed.

t. ln a machine of the character described comprising a wheel mountedsupport adaptn ed to traverse railway tracks, a knife carried by saidsupport, motor actuated means for raising and lowering said knife, andtie i engaging means controllingthe motor driven means for automaticallylifting the knife over the ties, the last mentioned means including alever pivoted to the support, a: road bed engaging roller carried bysaid lever. and means for varying the angle of.

engaging means controlling the motor dr1ven means for automatically liting the knife over the ties,the last mentioned means `the lastmentionedmeans.

6. ln a machine of the character described comprising a wheel mountedsupport adapted to traverse railway tracks, a knife carried by saidsupport, motor actuated means for raising and lowering said knife, andtie engaging means controlling the motor driven means for automaticallylifting the k; ife over the ties7 the last mentioned means carrying a`pivoted lever having a road bed engaging terminal, means for varyingthe position of the lever with respect to the surface of the road bed,and means for varying the position of the last mentioned means wherebyto so control the motor driven means as "to maintain the knife ininoperative position incidentr to the travel of the latter over ties ofvaryingwidths.

7. ln a machine of the character described, a wheel mounted supportadapted to traverse railway tracks, a movable knife carried by saidsupport, said knife being mov` able vertically to a position to avoidrail way ties, and tie enga-ging means actuating said knife whereby tolift the latter from a tie engaged by said means, said tie engagingmeans moving independently and in advance of the knife whereby to penmit the latter to closely approach the tie prior to' lifting thereof.

ln testimony wlereof, l haveA signed my name to this specincation in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses. I

` AUGUSTE SCHEUCHZER.

Witnesses: f

En. Favara, CHARLES Ln. ANNnN.

